Completely Unnecessary. Profoundly Harmful. Totally Avoidable.

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the Trump government shutdown, designed to force taxpayers to fund his border wall:

"The partial government shutdown beginning now is completely unnecessary, profoundly harmful to hundreds of thousands of families, and totally, 100 percent avoidable. It’s shameful that the President would make this happen to so many government workers right before the holidays.

"This isn’t about our security. It’s about a President motivated by hate, bigotry and perceived political self-interest having a temper tantrum because he didn’t get everything he wanted. A border wall is wasteful, unnecessary, harmful to the environment, and deservedly unpopular.

“Nobody should forget that President Trump promised, over and over, that America’s taxpayers would not have to pay for his immoral wall. Nobody should forget that Republicans have controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress for two full years, and should have finished the budget months ago, before Fiscal Year 2019 began. And nobody should forget that this immoral wall is part of a set of cruel, counterproductive, deeply unpopular Trump immigration policies that include using tear gas on moms and babies, separating asylum-seeking moms from their children, and fomenting hatred and bigotry against immigrants.

“We commend those elected leaders, led specifically by Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, for standing strong against wasteful spending and immoral policies -- and we urge them to continue to do so. We want our tax dollars to go to education, health care, job training, housing and other essential services that America’s families urgently need, not to fund the President’s wall or support his callous, indefensible anti-immigration policies.”

# # # #

MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.